R.I.P. VI Challenge

Well, I am going to do something completely new. I'm joining Carl's R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI. I've never tried it before because I'm not a fan of horror books, or ghost stories, or frankly anything very scary. But I've read the fine print, and Carl makes it clear that there are other categories.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

There are two simple goals for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI Challenge:

1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.

As I do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.I.P. VI without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea (or who have many other commitments) but want to participate all the same.

R.I.P. VI officially runs from September 1st through October 31st. But lets go ahead and break the rules. Lets start today!!!

I am going to go all out and participate in the:

Peril the First:

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (my very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming or Edgar Allan Poe…or anyone in between.

My choices come from the Mystery category, with one Supernatural exception. I've already pre-ordered the new Chris Bohjalian book called The Night Strangers. How could I not? It is set in my area after all! I first read of it in Yankee Magazine, and you may see the article, here. The other three will be mysteries which seem to be on the dark side:

Blood in the Water by Gillian Galbraith
Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger
Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin

Addendum: I started reading Knots and Crosses on September 3, and quit. My blogging friend, Geranium Cat had left a comment saying she thought Rankin was chilling, and she's right. The subject matter is too much for me, so I'll be choosing another book. I'm going to try Echoes From The Dead by Johan Theorin instead. We'll see if I cross it out as well. I did. Way too disturbing for this mother to read. I'll choose something else.

And then I read a few chapters of Blood in the Water, and though I didn't find it troubling, I just couldn't get interested in the story or the characters. I've read good things about the book, but I guess it just isn't for me.

I think I'll just start fresh without listing my choices. I'm even going to cross out Iron Lake.

The books I read for this challenge:

Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie - finished October 3

Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce - finished October 7

I quit the challenge. Mysteries I read anyway, and the scarier books just do not appeal to me. I tried and quit the Bohjalian book. This type of story is simply NOT for me.